What it all meant
by AntiSentient
Summary: Well, its not exactly what you'd expect from these two.........and Hermione's head girl, its no real surprise....7th year, basic fanfic.....my first though, so its my baby and therefore special to me......R for later scenes.....PLEASE R&R!
1. The train and a new beginning

Hermione Granger was heading back to Hogwarts. It was the start of her seventh and final year at the school, and Hermione was Head Girl. A moment she had supposedly been dreaming of since the first day she had set foot inside Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. When will she let everyone know the lie she had been living for all of these years?  
  
Thump...thump...thump. The dull sound of Hermione's head against the window of the train. Alone in the rear compartment of the long scarlet locomotive, Hermione wondered what went wrong She used to be so alive and bright. Then Harry started dating Cho, and Ron turned his affections on Hermione...She shuddered. And last year, during the last week of term, Hermione got an owl from her parents-  
  
Dearest Hermione,  
Alan and I have gone to America for the  
summer, and we're sending your Aunt Cora for you. We promise to bring you something nice!  
All our love,  
Mum  
  
-which left Hermione at a complete loss. Especially since her Aunt Cora, actually her great aunt, on her stepfather's side, was quite absent-minded and would likely forget Hermione altogether, which is exactly what happened. So, with her very last Galleon, Hermione summoned the Knight Bus and went to Diagon alley. Her summer was spent then, not at home, but in the dingy confines of the Leaky Cauldron. Thank the gods she kept muggle money in her trunk, and thank Gringotts for cashing it!  
  
Draco Malfoy made his way down the central corridor of the train, heading for the last compartment to be alone, and he shook his head, lost in thought. Draco's father Lucius, and his band of fellow Death Eaters really let their hair down over the summer. (so to speak) All the waiting, all the nights spent wishing for Voldemort's second rise to power finally paid off. Twelve muggle families in one night! 450 total over the summer. And for the first time in his life, Draco didn't want to be part of it. This worried him immensely, because if Draco's father ever found out that he didn't want to follow Lucius's murderous footsteps, it would be Draco's head on a platter.  
  
Shaking from the memories, and shaking off the apprehension, Draco found he had reached the back of the train, where, hopefully he could collect his thoughts in private, and then return to his friends, if they could be called that, calmer and ready for a new school year terrorizing the other students. He turned the knob, and felt the cold brass beneath his fingers and almost collapsed from that shock. He let out a silent prayer for empty compartments, and entered.  
  
Hermione looked up, and frowned. Draco Malfoy was exactly what she didn't need right now. Her eyes roved up and down Malfoy's lanky frame, taking in the long blond hair, blue eyes cold as ice, and the confused, almost comical expression on his face. Wait. Confused? That is the one emotion she has never seen before on the face of Draco Malfoy.  
"Hello, "Draco smirked, swaggering into the room. "Don't believe I've met you before. Transfer from Durmstrang, I take it?" Hermione gaped. He didn't recognize her? How was that possible?  
"Uh...Malfoy? Have you perhaps hit your head over the summer? Hermione Granger, your personal insult post for the last 6 years?" Hermione said, unsure. Draco's jaw dropped. This amazingly stunning thing, Granger? He wouldn't believe it. Wait. Draco noticed the same look of absolute loathing, much like Hermione thought he was a very disgusting bug, that she had worn every time she had ever looked at him. With that, Draco decided it was Hermione.  
  
But wow, was she different! Normally ugly, bushy, mud brown hair was straight and sleek, pulled back into a low ponytail, and was a gorgeous honey color which bore jet black streaks. *Hermione had clearly not been paying attention when she woke up this morning,* Draco thought. *Her clothes made her look almost...pretty. Mysterious, and just a touch...suicidal. A zip-up sweater, black, he noted, covered a blood red wife-beater emblazoned with a black pentacle. And her pants, also black, hugged her slim frame as if they had been sewn onto her. Hot, Draco decided. Very hot. But he wasn't going to let her know that. In the blink of an eye, Draco masked any semblances of any emotion but intense dislike, and tore Hermione down to size.  
"I thought this compartment was mudblood free, Granger. How'd you manage to get in?" Hermione showed no emotion, and made no movement save for her mouth, as she replied, "I don't know Malfoy, maybe the same reason they let donkeys in."  
  
Such biting reaction, Draco thought, something must really be wrong. And oddly, Draco found that he actually cared what was wrong with the listless almost-witch, in some way or another. Draco retorted, "What's wrong with you, there a niffler in your knickers or something?" Hermione sighed and turned her head toward Draco for the first time, each movement looking as if it pained her immensely and for the first time, he saw her eyes. The pain in the muggle-born's clear green eyes and he noticed that he felt genuine sympathy for the girl, regardless that he knew nothing of her plight. A shadow of the fury he once knew as Hermione Granger flared for a moment, and she replied icily, "Or something, Malfoy. Now could you please get the hell out?" In an instant, surprising even himself, Draco crossed the room in two strides and smoothly guided his body into the chair across from Hermione. Softly, and coaxingly, he said, "Not until you tell me what's wrong." Not sure why, and completely confused, Hermione wordlessly shrugged off her hoodie, and, grimacing, displayed her arms for Draco. He gasped and gently too her forearms in his hands, amazed that anyone, let alone Hermione, would have any worthy cause to do this to herself.  
"Why---?" Draco was open-mouthed in shock. Uncomfortable and impatient, Hermione snatched back her arms and wrapped them around herself in a comforting embrace. Draco let her hands go easily, but then began tracing his eyes over each and every wound on her delicate arms, curiously wondering how much pain this tiny girl could endure.  
"What are you doing," Hermione cut into Draco's thoughts, "Why are you looking at me like that?"  
"Nothing, nothing at all. Just wondering why a girl as smart as you would hurt herself this way," Draco replied with an absent air.  
Faintly, Hermione heard herself reply, "A smart girl would do something like this when there's nowhere else to turn, nowhere else to go...." Blinking, Draco frowned and said, "Hermione, what happened to you?"  
Hermione muttered something unintelligible, and turned back to the window.  
"What?" Draco inquired.  
"Hmmm? Oh, nothing." In her mind Hermione added, nothing that concerns you.  
"You just said something, I heard you, "Draco insisted.  
"I was just talking to myself, "Hermione relented With a grin, Draco quipped, "You know, in some places that's considered a sign of insanity..." And Hermione cracked a small smile and threw her hoodie at him. And then, suddenly, Draco was sitting next to her.  
"Now then wh-," Draco was interrupted by the cool tones of a woman's voice.  
  
"Please collect your personal belongings, and prepare to disembark. We will arrive in precisely 10 minutes. Next stop, Hogsmeade Station."  
  
With an annoyed glance at the ceiling, Draco continued, "Now then, what did happen to you Hermione?"  
  
"Look, Malfoy," she put emphasis on his name, "why do you continue to ask me these things? Don't you realize that you have a life, have friends? Unlike me, who doesn't have anyone...." She trailed off into silence. "Granger, I asked you a question, and I didn't expect an answer, but if you are going to be a bitch, I'm not gonna waste my time, "Draco sighed, and pulled up his headphones. This seemed to pique Hermione's interest. "How the hell did you hex that to play?" Draco smirked. Finally, he had her talking. "Well, I could show you...you got one?" Hermione thought for a second, and pulled out her Walkman. She handed it to Draco with a wary expression. He flashed her a quick grin and opened it. "Maroon5..." he muttered, and performed the charm. 'Micromilibus, ' he intoned, and snapped the CD player shut. Seconds later, through the headphones you could hear the strains of 'She will be Loved'  
  
'...I don't mind spending everyday  
Out on your corner in the pourin' rain, oh..  
Look for the girl with the broken smile  
Ask her if she wants to stay a while  
And she will be loved.....she will be loved...'  
  
Hermione sighed. "Merlin, that song gets to me, "and sure enough, there were hints of tears in her eyes. Draco almost asked her something, but thought better of it as Hermione slipped on her 'phones and resumed her mindless staring out the window.  
  
Seconds later, the woman's voice sounded again.  
"Hogsmeade station." And with a jolt, the train stopped. 


	2. Avoidance

A/N: I forgot to tell you all, if you have ANY ideas or anything for this story PLEASE tell me, 'cause I'm all slow and without help, it'd be FOREVER between updates. Which, I'm sorry, it has been, but Fanfiction only just started accepting a format that I have. I had been using my school computer before. -AntiSentient   
  
What it all meant-Ch.2  
  
Hermione emerged from the thestral guided carriage and stumbled. "Damn rickety old pieces of shit…." she muttered. The thestral nearest to her chuffed, almost in protest. She looked over at it, and sighed, patting the skin-and-bones flying horse on its velvety nose. 'I wish I couldn't see these, ' Hermione thought in mild discomfort, 'almost as much as I wish George weren't dead…' Hermione, during the last school year, had dated Ron's brother George, much to everyone's (especially Ron's) surprise. And, as per his new status as Hermione's one-and-only, was immediately targeted by Voldemort to be eliminated in an effort to weaken both Ron ,Hermione and the order. It worked. And as a result, they had lost both George and Tonks, and had barely escaped with their own lives.  
  
She looked up at the castle, the place that was more a home to her than her house in Surrey. Gigantic, dark and foreboding, Hogwarts looked different with each passing year. Absently, Hermione scratched the back of her head as the tears came to her eyes. A voice came quietly from behind her, "Hermione?"  
  
Hermione turned slowly, silently hoping that it wasn't Ron. There were too many unanswered questions between the two of them and it was far too awkward to face him - yet. At the end of her pivot, Hermione was faced with- a chest. Puzzled, she looked up and brightened immediately. "HARRY!" she squealed, and flung her arms around the dark haired boy.  
  
Confused but gratified, Harry hugged his friend close. "How are you Hermione?" Harry asked gently, his chin on her head. "You look so different." "So do you!" Hermione exclaimed, "You're so…BIG!" And truly, big was the only way to describe it. Harry was easily 6'2", a good foot taller than Hermione, and he wasn't a scrawny little boy anymore. The scar on his forehead, once prominent and deep brown, was now reduced to a thin white line just below his hairline, barely even noticeable. But amusingly, Hermione found that his hair, never to be kept down, still stuck stubbornly out every which way. She giggled softly at this.  
  
"What?" Harry asked, slightly put out. He ran his hand through his hair nervously, an action which Harry, even after 17 years had still not grown out of.  
"Nothing, " Hermione assured, looking up at him while biting her lip. "Nothing at all."  
  
Harry shrugged, and took Hermione's arm. "Quick, before Ron gets here, " he said, leading Hermione swiftly away.  
"So, Hermione, how was your summer?" Harry asked nonchalantly.  
  
"Oh, fine. Spent it at home with Tom and Sarah," Hermione lied, dropping the names of her sister and stepbrother. "Mum and Alan were out half the time anyway, so we pretty much had the house to ourselves. How was yours?"  
  
Neither Harry nor Hermione had been in contact over the summer, Harry always being too busy with the order, and other things at Grimmauld place, while Hermione obviously, well, hadn't. "Well firstly, I'm not speaking to Ron, because he told me what happened to you before you started dating er….." he trailed off, not wanting to say George's name.  
  
"George, Harry, it's ok, you can say it, " she said quietly. "Yeah, George. Before you started dating George, " he echoed. "Anyway, he was, Ron was GLOATING about it 'Mione. Bragging about hurting you…I punched him full in the nose for it too. Back in July. Before my birthday."  
  
Hermione gasped, and stopped dead in her tracks, just before the great stone steps leading into the castle." He TOLD you?" Tears were welling up in her doe eyes even as Harry finished that last sentence. Hermione didn't know what Harry was talking about before, assuming that Ron had made up some story about stealing her from Seamus, whom she'd dated before George. She started working her mouth frantically, trying to tell Harry the truth, perhaps, or maybe just to spout off a lie. Harry, chagrined, immediately enfolded Hermione in his arms, and began murmuring his apologies.  
Unbeknownst to either Hermione, who was sobbing into Harry's chest, or Harry himself, Draco Malfoy was rapidly approaching from behind. "Well, well. If it isn't Potter and his mudblood girlfriend," Malfoy berated, startling both Harry and Hermione, Hermione's tears rapidly drying with a quiet calming charm. Any traces of what had occurred on the train in Malfoy's mind were gone, as he was once again flanked by the behemoth Crabbe and Goyle, while the simpering Pansy Parkinson brought up the rear. All of whom laughed quite cruelly, and perhaps a bit dully at the overused crack, given at Malfoy's leisure over the 6 years he had known Harry and Hermione. "Now, we mustn't hinder this little romantic reunion, " Malfoy continued derisively, "So we'll just be on our way." And he and his little entourage made their way through the castle doors "Damn him," Harry said through clenched teeth. "How I just want to…." Hermione laid her hand over his arm comfortingly, and interrupted in a soothing voice with a hint of malice, " it's not worth it Harry, let's just go in to the feast." And with that Hermione began leading Harry up the steps, and into the castle. Harry gave a small snort, and followed Hermione.  
  
Once inside the great hall, Hermione and Harry were accosted by a babbling mob consisting of Lavender Brown, Parvati Patil, Dean Thomas, and Neville Longbottom. "Hermione! How was your summer?" Lavender and Parvati squealed in unison. "We haven't seen you in FOREVER!" Hermione smiled. "It was fine guys, how was yours?" And Dean swept her up into a gigantic bear hug. " Hiya Hermione!"  
  
"Hey Dean." she said in a strangled voice. " Can you, uh, put me down? Oxygen is becoming rather an issue." Dean bit his lip. "Sorry, " and placed her back on her feet. Harry, at this point, was carrying on a bit of a conversation with the Creevey brothers, and obviously attempting to escape, so Hermione tapped him on the shoulder, and told him "Harry, I think Neville's lost Trevor again, we need to help him find him." "Wha-ah, of course. Dennis, Colin, we're going to have to talk later." Harry told the overenthusiastic brothers, and quickly followed Hermione to the table.  
  
During all that, it was rather obvious that both Seamus and Ron were avoiding both of them. Therefore, they walked down the opposite side of the Gryffindor table and sat at the very end, between a seventh year, Teala Moon, and a shy fourth year, Natalie McDonald. Natalie didn't talk much, and clammed up when she saw Harry approaching. Teala, however, wanted to know what inspired Hermione's new wardrobe. (she had seen her boarding the train)  
Hermione, icy once more, only replied, " I felt like it," before turning back to Harry, who was animatedly holding court with a story about the quidditch cup last year, Nearly Headless Nick, and a couple of second years in rapt attention. "…and then I dove, nearly took Malfoy's head off, and snagged the snitch, inches from the ground." Harry was grinning from the memory. The second years looked awed, and Nearly Headless Nick praising him, "I say Harry, good show," Hermione smiled weakly. And opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off by the doors opening, and Professor McGonagall sweeping down the center of the hall, at least 60 terrified eleven year olds in her wake.  
"Here we go," Harry whispered to Hermione.  
  
McGonagall reached the dais on which the staff table sat, and Professor Flitwick struggled around it, lugging the age-old stool bearing the Sorting Hat. She had obviously already instructed the first years about the Sorting Hat, for she merely inclined her head to Professor Flitwick in thanks, and held out her hand, indicating the Sorting Hat, where the familiar rip at the brim opened, and the hat began its yearly song:  
  
"In the days when I was new  
  
My tales not often told,  
  
By these halls four wizards dwelt  
  
Our hearts they still do hold.  
  
Gryffindor, the warrior  
  
Brave, steadfast, and true  
  
Wizened, Brilliant Ravenclaw  
  
(her favorite color was blue)  
  
Loving, sweetest Hufflepuff  
  
In her you'd always find a friend  
  
Cunning was old Slytherin  
  
This school he would always defend  
  
And for years these wondrous people taught  
  
Filling young minds with much  
  
Until Slytherin decided he'd had enough  
  
Problems dealing with such.  
  
The remaining three were loyal  
  
To the place they had made their own  
  
Yet they felt they need to bring him back  
  
To make their school a whole  
  
So Gryffindor and Ravenclaw,  
  
Oh yes, Hufflepuff too,  
  
Looked all over  
  
Anywhere, for a clue  
  
And in this search  
  
To guard the school  
  
Who did they leave behind?  
  
Why me, my dears, and none other  
  
I was the best that they could find  
  
And still I sit, here before you today,  
  
So I can take my peek  
  
Inside your minds  
  
And see where you will stay!"  
  
As the hat finished its song, the customary applause thundered through the hall and at least ten of the first years visibly flinched at the tumultuous noise. "Definitely Hufflepuff," Hermione said conspiratorially to Harry, in reference to those who had flinched. In response, Harry let out a small laugh as McGonagall unfurled her scroll, and began the sorting.  
  
"Adams, Mark," a small, dark haired boy who reminded Hermione of a young Harry made his way to the stool, and placed the Sorting Hat on his head. Falling over his eyes, the hat deliberated for almost 30 seconds before declaring Mark a Ravenclaw, eliciting immense applause from the hall, and in particular the Ravenclaw table. "Billson, Emma," the girl went to the stool, and was immediately created a Hufflepuff. "See? What did I tell you?" Hermione gestured to the tiny blond making her way towards the Hufflepuff table, because, as she had predicted, little Emma was one of the ones who had flinched. Harry smirked. And after that, the Sorting went excruciatingly slow for Hermione, who wanted nothing more than to hide in her bed and sleep for the next two days.  
Finally, with the addition of nineteen new Gryffindors, (and Hermione was right about every single flincher) McGonagall called the last student.  
  
"Yentrick, Selene," she called, and seconds later, Selene became a Slytherin, with applause from both the staff table and the table closest to the door. No one else in the room moved. Almost a minute passed in complete silence as Selene clambered down from the dais and walked down the aisle to her new housemates. At long last, Dumbledore came to the podium. "Students, ghosts, and staff, before we break bread, I must inform, or re-inform you of a few things. One, we must welcome two new teachers to our ranks. Kingsley Shacklebolt, an auror, as our newest Defense against the Dark Arts teacher, and Rhiannon Marksham in the potions department."  
  
With that announcement, every jaw in the room dropped, followed by an applause greater than that for the Sorting Hat. "No Snape? This is going to be the best year ever!" Harry exclaimed excitedly. Hermione wasn't too sure. "There's something wrong," she said decidedly.  
  
"…and by order of Filch, I would like to inform you all that Popping Pinwheels and anything created by Weasley's Wizard Wheezes are added to the list of forbidden items," Dumbledore continued. "And lastly, may I introduce our new Head Boy and Girl, Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger!"  
  
'Oh great, HIM" Hermione thought disgustedly. 'What did I ever do to deserve this?'  
  
Polite applause followed this announcement as Dumbledore asked the new heads to meet him in his office after the feast, and said, "Thank you all for listening, and welcome our newest students. Enjoy the feast. Dig in," Dumbledore finished and sat back as the plates filled themselves with food and the hall erupted with the sound of five-hundred teenage voices.  
  
And without even taking one bite, Hermione wordlessly got up and left the hall, unable to think with that many people around. She needed to write. 


End file.
